Flax-treating apparatus.



sms i' Patented Ja G. R. DE MONTLORD.

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ssssssssssssss G. B.. DE TLORD. PLAX TREATIN PPARATUS.

APPLIUATIQH HLBD MAY 29.1905.

945,726. Patented Jam. 4, 1910.

6 SEEETS-SHEET 4.

G. R. DE MONTLORD.

v PLAX TREATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29,1905.

- Patented Jan. 4, 1910.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

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mnu N/ TPM ||||1 NAD a I j j 0GB ../llllll lr# ET F 5 DMN 3 `Zf a `orstalks are. as a whole, being passed UNITED sTATEs raTnNT onirica.

GEORGES R. DE MONTLORD, 0F NEV YORK,

N. Y., ASSIG-NOR TO THE INTERNATIONAL FLAX FIBRE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK,N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

FLAX-TREATING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 4, 1910.

To all 'whom it may concern: y

Be it known that I, Gnonens R. DE MONT- Lonn. a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing.;l in New York city, in the county of New York andState of New York, have invented certain new and uset'ul Improvements inFlax-Treating i-Xpparatus, ot' which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for treating fibrous plants, and hasfor an object to provide an improved machine ot this character fordtafortieatingr. deseeding and deshiving flax and other fibrous plants,which, while crushing` and breaking the plant stalks and removing thebark and woody portions from the fibers, will also without injuringthem, remove the seed from the plants.

In carrying ont: my invention a series of pairs of meshim;- tintedrollers are disposed for successively treating' the plant stalks andreceiving the same one from the other in rhythmic synchronism of take-upand letofl'. This relative meshing of the adjacent pairs beine so timedthat the entire series will be attuned for passing the fibers underuniform tension from pair to' pair throughout the series, forestablishing al t draw bend under constant tension in the stalks orfibers at one pairof rolls at a did'erent point from that established insuch stalks or fibers at the succeeding or precedin;` pair ot rolls, andthat while the fibers through the machine at -a uniform rate of speedretardation and acceleration will take place at the various working'zones in the machine resulting in relative reeiprocations in the stalksor fibers. This will produce a drawing of the fibers back and forth overeaeh tooth where they have been bent, the fibers beineflexible and theportions of matter which it is desired to remove beinet less flexible.they after having" been broken up will not withstand the reciproeat'ionunder tension through the draw bend.

This invention may be carried out in a machine comprising tour pairs ofrolls. this being' regarded as the minimum number ot t rolls toreflieient commercial use. The rolls will be driven in unison` but themeshing` otl each pair ot' rolls: will be different in timing or setv tothe meshin v of' adjacent pairs.

When a strip of material, as for instance a fiber plant, is passing,between a pair of fluted rolls which are rotated with a constant angularmovement the taking in upon one side and the paying ofi upon the other`side will not be constant, but will vary in an even and rhythmicmanner. It may be .st-ated that the action of the rolls or of therespective sides of each pair ofi' intermeshing rolls is rhythmic. Theaction which may be termed a rhythmic action on both side.; et one pairof rolls must be timed to tie rhythmic act-ion ot the adjacent sides ofthe pairs ot' rolls with which it immediately cooperates. The secondpair of rolls at its receiving side will have its rhythmic action inattunemcnt with the rhythmic action ot' the first pair of rolls atitsdelivery side, and the rhythmic action of the secondy pair of rolls atits delivery side will be different from the rhythmic action of thedelivery side otl the first pair oi rolls to such an extent that thepaying` ott from such delivery sides will not vary in tension,consequently the rhythmic action ot the receiving side of the third pairof rolls will be different from that ot the receiving side of the secondpair of rolls; and so on throughoutthe entire complement of pairs. Thiswill maintain the runs of' flax between the various pairs of rolls at auniformly constant tension.

The ii'itermeshingof the fiutings of the rolls will produce bends in theplant stalks being treated, and the uniform constant. tension maintainedYin such runs will produce the draw bends under tension above alludedto. The mechanical change in this apparatus over existing` mechanismsfor treatimcr flax and fibrous materials is comparatively small; but ofsuch a radical nature as `o increase the efliciency ot the apparatus byincreasing the percentage of material removed Jfrom the fibers, anddecreasing the amount of fibers broken and wasted. ln the scutchinT ofthe hatcheled flax, a quantity of broken' bundles of fibers `are drawnott with the shive, and' become what is known as tow. This hasJfrequently been charged up againsttlie scutehing process, or theapparatus employed in seutching, but it the real reason for-allielai-teje. amount ot tow were traced to its source, it would be foundthat. in. many instances it arose in the breaking scutcliing apparatus.'it is thought'that the hatcheling step may be eliminated, and itscomprises a framework 15 of some suitable Work entirely performed inthis present pai-etes.

in the drawings accompanying and forming` part of this speciiicationFigure l is a' vertical longitudinalv section of .a machine einhodyiag,and illustreting a form of my invention.

enlarged in 'respect to ig. l.; but illustrated at about full size forIpractical use. This view illustrates the relation oi' timing betweenseveral sets or pairs of rolls. Figs. 3 and l are enlarged sectionalviews, dlagrannnatical in a sense, showing the action of the teeth ofthe rolls on the iiher, showing also the operat'ye relation of one pairof relis with the next succeeding pair or set. 1T 5 shows the resultsoi' mal-adjustment of a pair of rolls. Figs. G, 7, 8 and 9 are 'hewiseenlarged views of the rolls, but ea more 'particulariy with each set orail oit, rolls themselves, showing the sliding .action of the liber onthe teeth as the material passes between them. Fig. l0 is adiagrammatical enlarged sectional View ofltwo pairs of rolls, showingthe timing whereby the bers are bent by one pair at difierent pointsfrom the bending by the preceding pair. Fig. .11 is a View similar toFig. 10 but showing rolls of less radius, makingI a shorter contactdistance or Working zone. Fig. i2 is a diagrammatical illustration ofthe theory of the action of the teeth or ilutingsoi' the rolls inremoving the seed from the plant Without injurymto either. Uigs. 153-18inclusive' are ,diagrammatic presentations showing the teeth of two i:irs of rolls in six diierent positions in one pitch distance, and Fig.19 shows gearing' ier-driving vthe rolls, i

ln Fig. l a machine capable o use' in car rying out the presentimprovement is shown in. longitudinal section, and such machineconstruction, havingA a number 'of' sets or pairs of intermeshing ilutedrolls 2O mounted therein; the lower of such rolls, in thc presentinstance have journals 30]. suitably supported by the framework, and theupper oi 'which rolls have journals 17 supported in bearing blocks orboxes 18., vertically shiftahle in Ways 'in the machine traine, andupon' Fig. f2 is an end View of the rolls illustrated in Eig. l, hutshowing vthese rolls which clocks suitable springs 19 are caused topress with the required degree of tension by means of set screws 2l. Therolls may all be rotated in unison and with uniform if'elocity by asuitable train of gearing driven in any convenient manner.

Although kthis invention is capable ot bcingl used with many plantshaving fibrous stalks or a iibrous sheath surounding the stall: andcovered by a cortical or bark portion, yet it is particularly welladapted to the treatment of iiax and in the present description,although iaX isnientioned, it will oe apparent that other plants may bealso treated by the apparatus. The plant Will be 'fed to the machlne inan even'layer over the feed table 23, and will, after passing throughthe several pairs of rolls, be discharged over a vshelf or chute 24, andthe seeds will drop down between the rolls and heV permitted to pile upupon the ioor, or be caught in some suitable manner.

For the purpose. of more conveniently illustrating the present invention1 have i shoe/nin Fig. l a machine having four pairs oit rollers, but itvWill be understood that in practice the number of pairs should beconsiderably increased and that the aggregate number of pairs Willdepend somewhat upon the size and physical characteristics of theber-plants to be treated. For a medium sise liax plant 1 find itdesirable to use in some cases as many as from ten to fifteen pairs ofrolls,tand in some cases even a larger number. The timing or att'unng4of the nieshin of the fiutes or convolutions of the rolls o the severalpairs must be such that thelaii or other fiber running from one pair tothe next pair will be paid o from one pair with the same speed at it istaken up by the succeeding pair. rhe iiutings or teeth of the rolls aresuch that theyqmesh after the analogy of gear teeth, the teeth of oneroll between those of the opposite roll, and one roll may drive theother; they need not hoth be positively driven. lihen'both rolls of thepair are not positively driven and a thin layer of flair hes-between therolls:

one roll- Will drivethe 'other through this iayer. A space Willbe leftbetween the meeting faces of the teeth or dures, so that the seeds ofthe plant willfnot be crushed while passing between the rolls. rtheshive and woody portions ofthe stalks will be broken up and largelyremoved by the suc- 'ces'sive bending anddrewing action to be hereafterdescribed, and at -the same time the seed will be removed.

l find in practice that in order to obtain the desired cooperation ofthe various rolls it is necessary that each successive pair of rolls beset one-third of a pitch distancein phase behind theprecedingl pair. Thetaire up on the receiving sido of one pairwill hen be in unisonavith thelet oit' from the ling the drawings by a multiplicity of referencecharacters.

that the fiber passing over its summit will adjacent side ofthepreceding pair of rolls, and the tension upon the runs between theadjacent pairs of rolls will be maintained substantially constant, andthe tension 011 all the runs substantially uniform. In Fig. 2 the rollsillustrated are substantially of the proportions just referred to. Thevertical dotted lines 30 are assumed to cut the point or arc of contactof the pitch circles of the several pairs of rolls. In the first pair ofrolls, assuming the material beingl treated to pass from left to right,which is its direction of movement in all the views, the line 31represents the center of a tooth or fluting of the upper roll in thechannel between two fiutings of the lower roll and such lin( coincideswith the line 30. It will be seen that the line 32, in such figure, isabout onethird of a -piteh distance behind the position occupied by theline 3l of the preceding l pair, and that the line 33 is abouttwo-thirds of a pitch distance behind the position of the line 31, andline 34 of the last pair, is about, but a little more than, one pitchdistance behind the position of the line 31. This construction willpermit the flax or other plants being treated to pass through themachine without injury to the fibers, and by reason of the proper andconstant tension will remove a large proportion of the woody portion ofthe stalks which adheres to the fibers. The full etliciencypf each pairof rolls is had, the fibers or stalks are gently but positively drawnover the sum-t mits of the teeth which are opening apart at the let offside of the rolls and also over those that are closing in at the intakeside, the stalks are drawn while bent at each side of each pair ofrolls,if l 'proper tension exists. The setting of the rolls is preferablyaccomplished during the construction of the machine.

Although there are a number of teeth or tlutings upon each roll, yet forthe present description the teeth which are in or adjacent to theworking Zone only will receive reference characters and in many of theviews such teeth only are shown. In the various v1ews the teeth in suchworking zone have been indicated by reference characters 101 ete. in theupper rolls of the respective pairs and the teeth of the lower rolls, insuch Zone, have been designated by the reference characters 21 etc. Theconvolutions or spaces between such teeth have not been given referencecharacters to avoid confus- The teeth shown in these views are muchenlarged.

By means of the present improved machine the draw bend action in eachworking zone is limited. Reference may here be made to Fig. 10. In theleft hand pair of rolls, the tooth 103 may be termed idle in teeth 201and 20; and tooth 102 which are closing together. The other working zonewill be between teeth 20land 204@ and tooth 104 which are opening andare paying ott the fiber strand more rapidly than this is being passedforward by the movement of the tooth 203. rolls tooth 203 is the neutralor idle tooth, in that the strand of fiber is moving at the rate ofspeed of the tooth 204. Teeth 102 and 103 and tooth 202 are receivingthe paid oli' material as rapidly as it is being let out by teeth 203,204C and 104, and more rapidly than the run of flax is being advancedmoving in unison with tooth '203. The iutings may be set far enoughapart so that one fluting does not bottom in the groove between iiutingsof the other roll, which would not only unduly crush the fibers, butalso prevent any relative movementbetween liber and rolls. rllhecurvature of the rolls and the number of teeth, the distance apart, andthe relative height of the teeth, must be such thatthe working zoneIwill comprise a small number of teeth, and the neutral Zone must berestricted in extent. In practice three teeth upon each side of the pairof rolls will be in the active zone, and sometimes one and sometimes twoteeth in the neutral zone. As the teeth rotate and the thickness of thcrun of fibers upon and between them varies the number of teeth inengagement with the fiber will vvary from nine to six in the proportionof roll illustrated in Fig. 2 and shown enlarged in the various otherviews of the drawings.

By having the centers of the rolls properly spaced apart, the bending ofthe fibers between the intermeshing rolls of one pair will be at adifferent point to that at which the fiber was bent between theinter-meshing rolls of the precedingl pair, thus subjecting the fiber tobending at different points along its length, whereby the breaking ofthe woody portions of the plant stalks will be most efficiently cariredon. This is illustrated more clearly in Fig. l0, where the points 45indicate the positions which have normally been at theI centers orsummits of the teeth of the upper roll of the pair of rolls at thelefthand side of such View and the pointsI 4G indicate where the summitsof the teeth of the upper rolls of the right hand pair will normallyengage the fiber when it passes between them. And by carrying out thesystem of properly distancing the centers of the rolls the summits ofthe upper rolls will not come in the same position in any two pairs ofthe series, or the coincidence of bending In the right hand pair of/'may br repeatedat given intervals if desired. And also b v suitablyadjusting the centers the `sunnnitsl ot' the teeth of the lower rollsVor point of contact of the pitch circ es of one pair with the arc orpoint of contact of the pitch circles of the other pair. The teeth whentimed to release the fiber and engage the same in unison will cause saidrun to oscillate upon its center in said line at -a' point between saidpoints or arcs of contact. If the center of such oscillation remainsconstant at the center of said line then I assume that the properrelative timing of the rolls exists.

The intake on the rearward side of one pair of rolls is made tocorrespond with the outputl at the forward side of the next precedingpair of rollsto maintain the interveningrun of fiber in a condition ofnormal stress for producing the draw-bend of thev fiber over the'edgesof the separating .flutes of one pair of rolls whilelcorrespondinglyproducing a similar action where'thefiber enters betweenthe approaching flutes of the next succeeding pair of rolls,'illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 wherein the manner in. which the flax willbe delivered from orte air of. rolls and taken up by the next succeedingpair in such a manner that uniform tension will be maintained upon the'run, so that `tli tension will be constant as shown. The tooth 105 isshown vin Fig.. 3, as emerging o vseparating from the spade between thetee 204 and 205 in the left hand pair of rolls,

, and in the right-hand pair the tooth 102 is lses shownl as enteringthe yspace between the teeth 201 and 202. The line 40 represents theradius linel of the tooth 105, and the line 41 indicates the radius lineof the tooth 102, and it will be-seen that each of said teeth is bendingthe fiber over one of the teeth in the lower roll of the pair, namely;t-he teeth 204 and 2.02 respectively. The tooth 105 in the upper roll ofthe left-hand pair is easing up' on the flax, whereas the tooth 102- inthe right hand roll is depressing the samelirito the space between theteeth 201 and 202. The amount of release and depression being the samethere will be no changein the tension of the run. This can be seen b Vrefer ence to. Fig. 4, wherein the movement ot the rolls' indicated, bythe difference between the radins lines 40 and 50 in the left-hand pairand between the lines 41 and 51 at the right-hand pair. In this case itwill be seen that the tooth 105 has nearly released the iax to assumo astraight line from the sum mit ot the tooth 204 to the summit of thetooth 201 upon the left-liand side of the right hand pair, and that thetooth 102 in the upper roll of the right-hand pair has commenced todepress the iiax between the summit ot the teeth 201 and 202. Fig. 5shows the rolls of the lettdiand pair in the same position they occupyin Fig. 4;y but the rolls of the right-hand pair are represented in adiderent angular position than thatoccupied by these rolls in Fig'. 4.In Fig. 5 the radius iine 60 drawn'throngh the tooth 105 is farthertoward the lett than the radius line 51 of the same tooth in theposition shown in Fig. 4; line 51 in Fig. 5 show? ing the position theradius line of such tooth 102 shouldbe into accomplish the desiredresult. The dotted lines 150 and '250 in the left-hand pair of rollslindicate the angular position such rolls should be in for coperationwith the angular position represented inl the right-hand pair of rolls.l

Reference will now be made to Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9, wherein the point orarc of contact of the pitch lines of the rolls will be indicated by theradius line` 1 and a Ascale advance 2, 3, 4, is' indicated at the rightof suuchv line. The summit point of the tootli,201 is indicated by 5,which point is in the radius line ot'such tooth, and in Fig. 6 suchsummit point coincides witha point 6 arbitrarily indicated u'pon thetlax or fiber 7, which is assumed to. be passing between the rolls fromleft to right as in'the other views. Atteithe radius line ot the tooth201 has moved to the point indicated'on the scale by 2, it will be seenthat the tootli'has'slippet upon the fiber the'distance indicatedbetween the points 5 and 6. The point 10 on tooth 202, which in Fig. (iwas opposite in a radial line to the point 11 upon the flax, hind such.point in Fig. 7, permitting the flax to slip over the tooth of the roll.This llatter slipping' has been accomplished by the tooth 101y risingout of the space between Ythe teeth 201 and 202. At Fig. t'whei'e theradius line of the. tooth 201 has advanced to `point 8, on the scale, itwill be seen that the points 5 and 6 are farther apart than in Fig. 7,as are also the points 10and 1l. When the radius line of such tooth 201has come to the position 4 on the scale, see Fig. 9, it will lie-seenthat the points 5 and 6 are approaching' each other, indicating that thetiax is..

then moving faster than the surface 222, ot'

has fallen be-v the tooth .202, with which the tlaxlis in contact butthat points 1,1 and 10 are still sepaupon the rating, indicating thatthe slipping surfaces 221 and 222, ot the teeth 201 and *l 202, is inthe same direction, but greater in respect to thelatter surface. Thisslipping is permitted by the tooth 101 coming tai-ther A the plant overthe summit of the tooth while This action may be assumed to bereciprocawhich it is bent.

plants on the teeth, before they actuallyv -flax between the rolls, theseed being pushed f 4seed remains on the plant, and it is iinont of thespace between the teeth 201 and i 202, and also by virtue of the factthat the l tooth 102, which in Fig. is shown as depressing the flaxbetween the space between the teeth 202 and 203, has entirely moved awayfrom the flaxand no longer bends itinto such shape. This slipping abovealluded to, not only assists in the crushing of the woody portions ofthe stall{,'but also in the decorticating action, producing a rub'-bi'ng, and also tends to free the fiber from the woody portion of thestalk by drawing it is bent, so that, I comprehend, the stalk is giventhe benefit of three distinct niechanical workings. It is broken byvirtue of being bent; it is freed by virtue of being drawn while bent,thiisproducing a draw bend as it were, and during which time there is a.rubbing action back and forth of the stalk upon the surface of the toothover All of which has a tendency to break up and remove all the shiveand the stalk portions which are of a woody nature, clearing the samefrom the fiber.

tion as it were, within the working zone of each pair of rolls. The flaxas a whole will be moving at a uniform rate of speed, but at eachworking zoneA there will be an amount of reciprocat-ioii, or relativereciprocation, doubtless a retardation and acceleration of the movementof the flax.

`Tlie reciprocation above alluded to not only acts to decorticate andbreak but also to remove the seeds fi'oiii the plants. and during whichaction thel tension upon the flax is maintained constant, so that whenthe reversal of direction, or relative movement., takes place there willbe no lost motion, in the nature of back lash, biit the bend undertension will be maintained during both movements. The draw-bend actionupon the plants not only strips off the shive and woody portions butalso strips off the seeds, and in doing this places the seeds in suchposition relative to the teeth that they will not he crushed by theportions of the teeth l which in their interinesliing inost nearlyapproach each other. The slipping of tbe come into'niesh mostell'eetually gets the seeds into positions of safety. rIhe draw-bendaction preventsl seeds remainingl ou the uuimits of the teeth during thepassage ot the l off from such summits find temporary lodgl ment at'places where they will not be crushed by the bottoming of the teeth.

It will be reineinbered'tlnit the flax plant is necessarily treated inmany instances, for commercial and practical reasons, while the portantin such cases to be able to run the plants through the decortieatingmachine and thus subject them to treatment in such a manner that theseeds will not be, many of them, crushed in the opei'atioii. When theseeds are so broken orvmuch crushed their commercial value is not onlyiinpaii'ed but the oil flows out and becomes a very objectionableelement to the successful and proper operation of the machine upon theliber. It is, therefore, one of the purposes of my present improvementsto provide a machine in which t-lie successive pairs of decortieatindrolls shall be so peculiarly related to eaci other in position,construction and mode of operation as to provide'an effective treatmentof the fiber portion of the plant while avoiding almost entirely theobjectionable result of breaking and crushing the seed, while at thesame time separating the seeds from the plant in an effective manner.

By reference to the enlarged view, Fig. l2, which is of a diagrammaticcharacter, several spaces or zones are illustrated. In the zone orworking position between the dotted lines 71 and 72 occurs the principalpart ofthe drawing of the tensioned fibers forcibly along over the edgesof the teeth, as more fully represented for instance, in the enlargedview 6 to 9, inclusive. Atthe time this drawing action is being appliedin the said working Zone as the fiber passes out of one pair of rolls onits Way to the next succeeding pair of rolls, the tautness lor properstress of the fiber being maintained in the. meantime, there is also asmaller amount of drawing action over the preceding' tootli edges whilethese are passing from the v-one 75, as indicated at the left of thezone 70. As to the action upon the fiber at this working position itwill be observed that'the fibers or strands are forcibly drawn forwardover the edges 76 and 77 of the teeth 202 and 103 and the seeds areforced between the tooth edges. as indicated, for instance, at 78, andwhile this motion at. the particular moment referred to is compara- IOCtively small as compared with the correspending sliding motion of thefibel' over the tooth-edges which at that time happen to come within thewerking` zone. the said motion is nevertheless relatively positive andforcible and the liber stl'aiids are bent sharply over the tooth-edgesand are drawn between the narrow space, as, for instance. at. Tt), withthe result of grasping the seed oi' seeds which may be attached to theliber and thus causing` the liber strands to pull away .from the .seedwhich is thus engaged with the resultiof quickly clearing` the fiberfrom the seeds, and ofdoing this in such a manner as not to crush theseed, since at that point referred. to while the seeds are being tornaway from the fiber the opposing 'surfaces by which the seeds are thenengaged are in the act of separating away from each other instead ofbeing iii the act of approachiso ing each other; this latter movementwould, of course, tend to crush the seed. The faces 80 and 8l onopposite sides of such space 79 are slowly moving awayy from each other,and although such space 79 is maintained narrow for an appreciabletimeyet such gradual enlargement prevents the jamming oi the seeds.

Owing to the continued stress or tension on the iiber by reason oi themeshing oi' the lutings of the successive pairs of rolls with each otherthere results in a drawing-in movement of the ber between the approaching teeth of the roll on the Aside Where the iiber enters the saine, asseen, tor instance,

at the lett-hand in Figs. 6, 7a 8, 9 and l0.

The tension also tends in' a measure to draw the liber forward throughthe Whole area of its engagement between the two rollers of a pair ofrollers, and this stress or tension While it may not cause a positivemovement of the liber forwardly through the rolls oper 'ates to preventor materially retard any tendency of the liber to lag behind the rollsin their forward movement. In this Way the fiber is brought into therolls and is bent forwardly and baclrwardly between the teeth thereof inan. equable and normal manner, and on passing out of such engagement isforcibly yet tightly drawn forward over the .rounded edges of thelteeth, thereby being subjected to the peculiar treatment alreadydescribed of a drawing movement under tension over the reverselydisposed tooth-edges and through the oppositely-disposed curves andangles, all of which tends to break up and separate the woody portionsof the plant from -the fibrous portions thereof in a rapid and highlyeiective manner.

As was above stated the tension upon the run of flax or liberinterveningbetween each of the adjacent pairs of rolls is produced byhaving the intake or talreup on the rearward or receiving side of onepair of rolls correspond with the output or let-oft from the forwardside of the next preceding pair ot rolls, the separating orrecedingiiutes of one pair ot rolls corresponding with the appreachingor entering of the flutes of the next succeeding pair of rolls. Thiswill be produced by suitable .driving mechanism connected to the rollsand adapted for rotating the several pairs of rolls maintaining the saidcooperative relations ot the separating iutes at the point of output atone pair of rolls with the engaging tintes at the point of intake at thenext succeeding pair of rolls. rlhis may be accomplished by havingsuitable connecting mechanism, which in the present instance is shown asa train of gears. The gears 30G which are carried by theshafts 301 ofthe lower rolls will be in' mesh with gears 302 in the nature ofidlers,l one-ot the gears 301 will be in. mesh with the driving gear 308tast upon the shaft during the early' stages of the process ot aliarse30st which is driven by a pulley from some suitable belt not shown. Thegearing here shown is merely illustrative.l

.ln carrying on these operations in a series of rolls organized and.coacting as herenrset' 0 `orthp'the successive pairs oit rolls being sutiicient in number' to accomplish the required amount oit treatment duetovr the size and character of the liber plants 'to be rested. thepressure of the first pair or pairs ot rolls oit the entire set may beso light as to only partially break7 the stalks and branches of theplant', and thereby avoid' any substantial amount ot seed crushing R0decortication, `When this process has been.

further advanced and the ber strands' have become considerably seperatedLfrom the woody portion of the plants the correspond ing moderatepressure of the rolls against or toward each other in each air ot rollsis sufficient to continue the decorticating process and to complete theWork of separating the seeds from the plant, the seeds so separatedbeing normally shaken out ot the iiber by its passage from one pair otrolls to the next succeeding pair of rolls at the suc- 4ceedimsg;intervals throughout the series of pairs oit rolls. rAfter the processhas been carried on to a, point where the seeds hav 5` substantially allbeen separated from the plant the roll pressure maythen be'incnea'sed inthe succeeding pairs of rolls so as to more fully crush any hardportions of Woody ia terial, such, :tor instance, as certain joints Vvoccurring in the branches of the plant, so that when the ber emergestroni the niachine it will be practically tree of seeds and also freeoit. crushed portions of the -woody part. of the plant. This inode of "gQ5 the plant as it passes through the rolls also operates during thelater s the process to very fully divide and se the fiber strands7 andthus largely re amount ot treatment required by ha l 10 or scutching orother supplemeiital or treatment. y

By means oli vmy present improveinei will now be clear, the liber si lplants are subjected i andere passed along suce e several pairs ofrolls, while l are maintained in a relatively t tion., whereby the drawbend l ti the ber randa by the teeth or@ maintained in addition to thecr tion ot the rolls beth at the point strands enter between the rollsthey pass out from between v this connection it should be noted, sistemaslackness of the fiber space Between two succeeding p would ope itc torelease the te:

bers agr. t the aiilv'ancing to thereby p1 event said tooth-edges rioni.

their meshing' the beneficial results sought lseri-es of pairs of rollswill be such that the ing the proper d 'aw bend of the fibers, and alsoreduce the tension-draft at the point where the seed should be pulledoff from the fibers, as, for instance, in the working zone, indicated at70, Fig. 1Q.

The relationship existing throughout the constancy of tension maintainedupon the run of flax between any two pairs of rolls will influence thetension upon the run of flax between ever f other two pairs i)(f rollsin the series. For instance assumingthat there are four pairs of rollsand that the first and second pair maintain the tension on the runsbetween them constant, and that the third and fourth pair maintain thetension on the run between themselves constant but that the tensionmaintained upon the run between the second and third pairs is notconstant, or is not uniform with the tension on the other runs, suchlack of constancy or uniformity ot' tension will be felt in bothdirections, namely; at the run between the first and second pairs and atthe run between the third and fourth pair, there being a tendency toneutralize the tension so that the erratic tension of the second runwill be absorbed as it were by the first and third runs. ltl therelative timing of the meshingl is faulty and pro'- duces unevenness oftension at one run the benefits arising from the attunemcnt of meshingof the other pairs of rolls will be largely minimized. A\s.-s.uning thatthe scries embodied twenty pairs of intel-meshing rolls and that fourpairs. scattered throughout the series, were improperly timed as to inthis system would be largely done away with, owing to the tendency ofany length of material when under tension to `c'ive up some of' itstenseness to a less-tense portion.

Figs. 13 to 1S inclusive -represent a series of positions occupied byone of the teeth at the region of the point of contact of the pitchcircles of a pair of rolls during;l the angular advance of one pitchdistance. Six ditl'erent positions are illustrated in this ries and theseventh position would be substantially the same. as that shown in thefirst position with, however, the teeth all atlvanced one pitchdistance. In all the views of' this series the. meridian line l0 remainsin the same position and in Fig. 13 there are shown seven radius lines,comment-.ing with the center or radius line of the tooth in question,which bears the reference character lt` showing the various positionsthe radius line of such tooth will occupy through the various views ofsuch series. Said lines bear 'lor convenience the numbers 13 to 18inclusive and the seventh or final position bears thereference character130, this would be the position the radius line lwould occupy 1n arepetition of Fig. 13 and assuming the i tooth to have advanced acomplete pitch disl tance. ln the other views'the radius line 13 isillustrated and the radius line pertaining to that particular positionof the tooth is also illustrated. This series of views is for thepurpose of illust ating the manner in which theA run of flax 4U betweentwo pairs of rolls is maintained with a constanttension but is not paidor let-off from the lefthand pair of rolls at a constant speed; thescale upon such run of flax in Fig. 13 bearing' the numbers 13 to 1Sinclusive shows the distance the run of flax will travel during thetravel of the rolls between the radius lines bearing' similar numbers,and in each of the succeeding' figures the line bearing the numbercorresponding' to such figure iu'di- -ates the distance the flax hastraveled from thc line 12. which is a vert"al line drawn from the pointwhere the radius line of the tooth passes through the summit of suchtooth. And the distance line between the lines 12 and the line in thescale has the reference character 19. The line 11 shows the distancebetween the meridian line 10 and the line 12 so that. by a comparison ofthe lines 11 and the lines 19 in the various views the fluctuationbetween the advance of the teeth and the advance of thcflax will beapparent. lt will also be observed in these views how the run of flax 40oscillates as it were upon the center between the points of contact ofthe pitch circles in the two pairs of rolls. 'hen wc are considering,foiinstance. one of the teeth in the upper roll certain phenomena takeplace during' the angular advance of half a pitch distance. where uponone of the teeth ofthe lower roll will assume the position of the toothof the upper when the observation was commenced and there will be arepetition of the same phenomena during the angula' advance of theremainimgr half of the pitch distance.

The above observations relating to the manner in which one pair or setof rolls delivers the run of llax is made use of in attuning the set ortiming' of the meshing of the teeth or tlutings of the next successivepair of rolls so that their intake will be at. all times in conformitywith the let-ott which we have just been considerino'. 'lhefluctuationfrom the let-ofil of one pair of rolls will be equalcd by thefluctuations in the intake of the next succeeding pair of rolls thusmaintainingI at all times a constant uniform tension upon the flax, sothat `as it is drawn through the bends as illustrated in ltigs. t5 to t)inclusive the shive will be removed from the fibrous portion and therewillv be no periods of slackness ot' the flax; vwere there such periodsof' slaclmess the bend of the [lax would be impotent, becauseI therewould be no drawing through the bend and consequently at every suchperiod of slacltncss there. would be a cessation ot the removal of theslnve from the fibers,

lili) necessitating -I proloi'igcd or further treat-v which is passingbetween theinlthe advance.

of such matter, in the present instance assumed to be Flax, 1s variable,and the Various 1 pairs of rolls throughout thaapparatus will be soadjusted that the capacity4 foirreceiv'-l ing by one pair'of rolls willbe equal to the delivery capacity of `the preceding p'air.

The capacity for one pair to receive the payo'i or delivery from thepreceding pair will maintain the flax in the run constantft' Iftheoperation of the machine'be considv ered in the .light of an art orprocess it may be stated that the flax will be bent, and While sobentwill be drawn; the flax will then be straightened out and again bent,and while so bent the second time will be drawn again.

Bending and drawing at each of two points is continuous and as the flaxadvances such two points on the ax being treated will also advance. Thelength of iaxbetween the two regions of bending is maintained at avconstant tension, which constant tension is produced by the secondbending of the flax eing always equal to the releasing or straighteningout of the kiiaX at the prcccd the straightening which preceded it.

herein described combination consisting of a series of pairs ofintermeshing iiuted rolls located for passing the fiber from oney pairtoJ the next succee ing pair and having the rolls of the successive airsso set in the described rotative positions respectively namely eachsuccessive pair at approximately one-third of a pitch distance in phasebehind the preceding air .for causing the intake on the rearward)A sideof one pair of rolls to correspond with the output of the forward sideof the next preceding pair of rolls and thereby maintain the interveningrun of ber in a condition of normal stress for producing the draw-bendof the fiber over the edges of the separatin flutes lof one pair o rollswhile correspon in ly producing a similar actionwhere the ber enters theapproaching Hutes of the next succeeding pair of rolls, and drivingmechanism connected and adapted for rotating the pairs vof rolls whilemaintaining the said relative set of the rolls.

and 23d st., New IYork city, this 16th day of May, 1905.

Witnesses:

(l1-IAS. LYON RUSSELL, ALEX. J. SIMPSON.'

Having described my invention, I claim: A In a device for treatingfibrous plants, the- Signed at the Fuller Building, Broadway i iingbend, the bend always being equal to GEORGES R. Dn MoNTLoaD.

